


Interludes and Reprisals

by knightswatch



Series: This Is Letting Go [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bonding, Fluff, Introspection, M/M, Omegaverse, Pack Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 16:21:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3775312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightswatch/pseuds/knightswatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pieces of This Is Letting Go that either didn't make it into the main story or were written out of order with the flow of events. Mostly focused on pack dynamics between the Samezuka swimmers and A/B/O dynamics that don't fill in the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interludes and Reprisals

**Author's Note:**

> One of my favorite things about omegaverse is the world building, but a lot of it doesn't fit or I don't think of it until I would have to go back over the whole story to weave it in. I'm gonna use this to post little drabbles/worldbuilding pieces that don't really fit with the plot but color the world in more.

Ai didn't really notice at first how strange Rin's attitude is. He chalked it up to not yet having presented in part, but also never having been part of a pack. He'd had friends growing up, of course, and a younger brother he was nearly inseparable from for years, but the warm acceptance of the Samezuka swim team was something he didn't know to expect. It was nice he decided, even if he didn't always know the etiquette that accompanied pack behavior. The first day he'd walked into practice to find Sejiuurou Mikoshiba grinning at him, hand wrapping around the back of his neck and leaning down to bump their foreheads together had left Ai blinking and surprised.

He knew how to properly greet pack members if only because he'd seen others do it around him, but he hadn't been expecting it on his first day. It gave him a funny feeling when their heads touched together, a far away kind of tingle. Sejiuurou didn't have time to greet everyone for each practice but when he did greet Ai, always with a wide smile, it left him feeling a lively spark settled in his heart. He was extremely glad, he found, for the Biology and Relationships course that was mandatory for all first-years. He paid far more rapt attention than most others and one lesson, in particular, taught him that that feeling was from the bond he was starting to build with Sejiuurou.

Rin had been fuming the first day he'd joined the swim team, and when Sejiuurou had waved and tilted his head in an attempt to offer him a proper greeting Rin had actually snarled at the captain, shying away like the very idea of being touched burned him. Ai didn't fail to notice it; no one did. He was careful not to offer Rin any greetings. Even after he presented a few weeks into the year and it became the expectation that he initiates most of the greetings that he received. Samezuka's swim team had only one other omega, a third-year named Dai Ryuno who was just a little taller than Ai but thicker through the shoulders. He seemed just as glad as Ai not to be the only omega on the team and his greetings were always the longest that Ai shared, a tap accompanied by a small nuzzle. His greetings made Ai think of chocolate melting on a warm day, just like Dai's wide smile and brown eyes.

Rin continued being surly with most of the team until the incident with his old team and their relay race. The practice after, even with the stern talking to Sejiuurou had given him, Rin leaned up and bumped their heads together with a little snort. He greeted Ai too, a little smile on his face when Ai could really only reach his head to nudge Rin's chin. Ai felt something like smoke curling in his head and he smiled as well; it matched the passionate fire that burned inside of Rin.

He'd looked truly shocked when Sejiuurou named him captain, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling in a way that was almost shy. He came back and seemed far easier and lighter than Ai remembered him at all, he let Ai linger just a little when he greeted him, resting his chin on the top of his silver hair for an extra moment. Ai always closed his eyes for a second, feeling the fire that burned inside of Rin and letting the contact comfort him. He felt closer to Rin than he had before, even after he decided to change rooms to spend time with Sousuke.

Ai had almost been excited that his roommate was another omega, expecting something like the quiet and easy friendship he'd had with Dai. Momo was a rude kind of awakening, even if he wiggled his way into Ai's life and filled it with the same kind of energy and bright color Ai could feel when Momo nuzzled their heads together. He was sometimes too exuberant with his greetings and Ai had more than once ended up with a bruise on his cheek or temple that made Rin glower and Sousuke chuckle when Ai explained just where it'd come from.

Rin started scent marking Ai when he greeted him before practice though it was so quick that it was more a brush to either side of his neck than a nuzzle. Ai didn't mind, it always left him blushing when he dropped back to his feet and smiled just a little shyly up at the alpha. It was a normal gesture, even if it wasn't really normal for Rin. The only other person Ai had ever seen Rin scent mark was Nagisa, and it always seemed like it was done a little bit against his will. Rin made the time to greet him at least once a day, and Ai felt something content curl in his stomach. Rin did it because their bond was special to him, though Ai was a little too shy to ask about what it was Rin felt brushed their faces together.

The day Ai's father called to tell him he'd found a mate that he deemed suitable and Ai would be meeting with him in two weeks, he pulled away from Rin's habitual attempt to scent mark him. He'd cried after getting off the phone and even when Rin accepted the barest bump of Ai's head against his chin with a quiet frown Ai cringed at the contact. It had grown from feeling Rin's fire when he greeted him, now it was the momentary feeling that he could conquer the whole world right next to Rin, and after having his dreams crushed into the dust in front of him, it was the last thing that he wanted to feel.


End file.
